A Farewell to the FORMER Sixth Graders

A Farewell to the FORMER Sixth Graders

Yes, they're "big" important 8th graders (soon to be 9th graders), but I still remember them as bright-eyed little sixth graders sitting in homeroom on the first day of school.  I have so many wonderful memories of them -- Long Lake Center, the many social studies projects they did, the amazing papers they wrote in 7th and 8th grade English class, their warmth, their intensity, their creativity, and the millions of laughs we had together.  I'll miss you, once upon a time sixth graders!  Best wishes on your wonderful futures.

Below I've posted just few of my favorite photos, starting with 8th grade graduation night and going back to sixth grade.

Our Last Few Weeks of Learning This Year

What We Learned the Last Few Weeks of School

Our students were busy learning right up until the last day of school.  They’d likely say they deserve their summer vacations!  Happy summer to all!

Religion (Joyce McCauley)

During our last month of school we learned about more saints who have lived lives which still serve as role models for us today.  

We talked about Jesus as the shepherd and why we (his flock) need Him in our lives.

Solomon's asking for wisdom when given one “wish” was a good starting place for discussions of what we would want if given the choice of anything.  Asking for more wishes didn't count!  Many wanted unlimited money (sound familiar?).  Ask your student about our discussions -- we kept coming back to wisdom and what it can do for our lives.

6th grade Science (Joyce McCauley)

We ended the year studying about simple and compound machines and how they are everywhere in our lives.  We also discussed ways in which these machines can make life more fun, as well as make work easier. 

We had a lot of fun when we did a quick unit on variables in experiments.  Swingers (pendulums) were the focus while we learned about controlled experiments, setting up a standard experiment, and making predictions of outcomes for experiments. 

Math (Abby Mallory)

The 6th graders spent the last few weeks of the school year learning about Geometry.  They practiced finding areas of triangles, circles, and trapezoids, and the volume and surface area of rectangular prisms.  In 7th grade they will focus on volume and surface area of other three-dimensional solids.  

English (Ken Backe)

For the last two weeks of this year, the sixth graders have been working on Pronouns.  They've learned about antecedents, reflexive pronouns, person, number , and gender.  I am looking forward to having this group for literature class next academic year.

Social Studies (Lisa Svoboda)

After our Renaissance unit this spring, we did a small unit on two Mesoamerican empires -- the Mayas and Incas.  Students learned that these two culutres were achieving great things (building pyramids, creating original writing systems, doing advanced astronomical studies, establing organized empires) right along side the rest of the world.